Bless you, Steve Phillips, for you are the gift that keeps on giving. In January 2000, Phillips, then-GM of the New York Mets, and team president Fred Wilpon needed to free up some cash to sign free agents, so they asked Bobby Bonilla if they could give him an IOU on the remaining $5.9 million of his contract to the tune of eight percent interest. Bonilla agreed and, we like to think, kissed Phillips on the mouth and yelled, “I’M RICH, BITCH!” Because starting in 2011, the Mets owe Bonilla $1.2 million per year for 25 years.
The deal allowed the Mets to sign future Hall-of-Famers guys we’ve heard of Mike Hampton, Todd Zeile and Derek Bell. The Mets advanced to the World Series that year before being trounced by the Yankees 4-1. After that season, Zeile stuck around another season and sucked, Bell went to the Pirates, and Hampton became the greatest pitcher in the history of baseball. Haha, just kidding, he developed leprosy.
http://withleather.uproxx.com/2010/07/mets-ink-bobby-bonilla-to-25-year-deal